Florida has a large private-well population, particularly in rural and semi-rural parts of the state outside municipal service areas. Much of Florida sits on karst limestone — porous, fractured rock that can allow surface water (and anything in it) to move into the aquifer more readily than in areas with thicker soil cover, which is part of why bacterial contamination is a more common concern in some Florida wells than in flatter, non-karst regions. As in every state, private wells are not regulated under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, and testing is the well owner’s responsibility.
Why test
None of the common well contaminants below have a reliable taste, smell, or color at concerning levels — a well can seem completely fine and still test positive for bacteria or nitrate.
What to test for
A baseline panel for a Florida well should include:
- Total coliform bacteria and E. coli — a priority test given Florida’s karst geology and its documented association with bacterial intrusion into groundwater.
- Nitrate — a concern in agricultural areas and in areas with high septic-system density; particularly important for households preparing infant formula with well water.
- Arsenic — relevant in some Florida groundwater, including certain areas influenced by naturally occurring mineral deposits or past agricultural chemical use.
- Lead — mainly relevant to household plumbing.
Coastal well owners should also be aware that saltwater intrusion is a separate, well-documented issue in some parts of Florida — it affects water taste and hardness rather than being a health-based contaminant tracked here, but it’s worth mentioning to your lab if you’re near the coast, since it can indicate other changes in well water quality worth monitoring.
How often to test
EPA guidance recommends testing private wells for bacteria and nitrate at least once a year, and again after any heavy flooding (common in Florida given hurricane season), after well or plumbing work, or any time water quality changes noticeably.
Where to find a certified lab
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection maintains a searchable tool for laboratories certified under the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP), including for drinking-water analyses — see the source link above.
After you test
If a result comes back above a health-based guideline, see our filter guides for which technologies are certified to address that specific contaminant.